Welcome Gentle Readers

This blog tends to wander from its main purpose -- updates on my fiction. I do have updates and excerpts of my work. But I also write about my obsessions -- food, friends and pop culture and my weird life in Los Angeles. Enjoy!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Missing Muse, Updates and Big Food

Warning: If you find yourself here via a google search for such things as TV shows or films, recipes or cities, this blog has some facts. However, this blog is one author’s very twisted musing on many weird things. It is sometimes graphic in content. If you read on, don’t write to yell at me.

As it turned out, I never got around to posting during the week. It was the usual insanely busy week, but I found myself without any energy to do any kind of writing when I wasn’t working on something that’s in development. We were both on some heavy antihistamines (You know there is something bad in the air when Jon actually asks for sinus meds). The air at the beach where we are was unhealthy most of last week. We were at the furthest point out from the fires. Some neighborhoods had ash in the trees and on cars. The air toward downtown was brown early in the week. You really shouldn’t be able to see the air you’re breathing. One of my conference callers said I had a Brenda Vacarro voice happening in the morning. That implied to me that my voice isn’t always sultry and sexy, but I let it pass. We have little to complain about though. There have been a lot of people displaced with doubtful prospects. Fortunately, the losses were primarily property though in this economic climate, those losses are a catastrophe.

Missing the Muse

The big drag about being involved in all of these film projects is that I haven’t had the time to do any kind of creative writing just for me. I can’t justify using any of my free time to work on anything save for the films. That always makes me feel somewhat down. Aside from the creative rush I feel when I’m hanging out with characters I’ve created, it is the only outlet I have that doesn’t involve input from anyone else. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a thrill to hear actors say words you’ve written exactly the way you heard them in your hear or even better than you’d imagined. And it’s an amazing feeling to see scenes that were in your head come to life. However, that means a lot of sharing of the vision in a given work. That sharing always changes what was originally written. There are a number of writing projects vying for my attention. I’d love to tinker with any one of them, but I can’t right now. That throws me off a bit. My happiness meter isn't as high as it could be. For now, the trade-offs are enough that I can cope.

Updates and Panic Attacks

We’ve been having a lot of panic attacks lately. While watching the stock market roller coaster every day, it is easy to start worrying about our films and their funding. So we do – a lot. Still, we keep working on developing them to keep the schedule that is currently in place. The last word that we have is that we are still on schedule with The Gunslinger and Luv U 4 Ever. I have been adding previously deleted material to The Gunslinger since we found out it will have a theatrical release. I’m glad to have the scenes back though I’m still wrestling with the pacing of the script. They’re a lot of fun and it gives my cast more opportunity to shine. Meanwhile, I did a make-up and hair test with Matty Ferraro for Blood Oath. I’ll put those up on the newly minted myspace page for the project later today, and I’ll make an announcement here for those interested. He really has a living anime character thing happening (he’s a very pretty Vincent Greven). I’ll also reveal our pick for Rik Heron. He has a Willem Dafoe thing happening. Thus, this Rik will have a lot of intensity. We are on track to finish that shoot before everyone leaves for Christmas. I can’t wait to work with Matty in front of a camera. He is ever so patient and personable and trusting. I tell him that I need him in the bedroom on his knees and he doesn’t bat an eye (so very trusting). I like that kind of cooperation in attractive men. As for the features, unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be in a position to name the casts of the two features until early next year. You’ll have to stay tuned.

Foodie Things

Though I haven’t been doing much fiction writing, I have been engrossed in all things related to Thanksgiving cooking. That means that I am watching new shows about things I’ve been making for years and old shows that I’ve seen dozens of times. I puts me into a near zen-like state necessary for cooking all that food. Jon is very lucky to have headphones and an endless collection of soundtracks. We aren’t planning on entertaining this year. The holiday is an opportunity to rest from our routine (which we really need to do) and, more than likely, work on the projects in development. I say that I’m not planning to entertain. There are friends out there whom I haven’t heard from in a bit. I’m not sure that people won’t show up. I’ll be ready if that happens. I am making pies for some actor friends, as usual. It’s really hard for me to make one sweet potato pie (no pumpkin pie here, sorry). Cooking is my form of meditation, so I don’t think of it as a chore. And since there is Jon to do the dishes between rounds of cooking, it’s even less of a chore. I would cook even if we went to someone else’s place for dinner. My Mother always did that, because we wanted our own source of sandwiches and leftovers. The Thanksgiving meal is mainly about sandwiches and leftovers, after all. I have to warm up my kitchen mojo. Friday is the beginning of the great holiday baking extravaganza. This will be a happy smelling place for the next few weeks.

Since I’ll be posting later in the week, this blog will be a little short. Stay tuned for more rants and updates on the doings here mid-week.